Inside detail on near-lynchings of Muslims in Nitish Kumar’s Bihar

Here is the latest on Bihar. These details are not available on mainstream media and there’s no prize for guessing why?

According to reports three Muslims were bashed up by the so-called cow vigillantes in Bihar’s Bhojpur district. These three hail from Ranisagar village in Shahpur Vidhan Sabha. Ranisagar village is dominated by Muslims. A legal slaughterhouse has been running in the village for decades. No one ever objected to in the past. ‘Beef’ was not an issue here even during heydays of JDU-BJP rule between 2005 to 2015.

Ranisagar is a regular supplier of meat to pockets in North Bihar. The truck in question on the current occasion was proceeding towards Muzaffarpur. Shahpur Vidhan Sabha was a stronghold of Shivanand Tiwari, the veteran Bihar RJD Brahmin leader, one of the few secular upper caste faces in the OBC dominated Lalu’s RJD.

Unlike Uttar Pradesh, which has 14% Brahmins, highest among upper castes, Bihar voters have more Bhumihaars and Rajputs than Brahmins (3-4%) in the ‘upper echelons.’ BJP’s Munni Devi won the Shahpur seat in 2005 and 2010. In 2015, Rahul Tiwari, Shivanand Tiwari’s son, defeated the BJP as a Mahagathbandhan candidate.

CPI-ML (Liberation), the only left force to win three seats in 2015 assembly elections, has a sitting MLA, Sudama Prasad from Tarari seat in Bhojpur district. Bhojpur has 6 Vidhan Sabha seats. In 2015, four went to RJD, one each to to JDU and CPI-ML (L). BJP did not win a single seat. CPI-ML (L) was not part of the Mahagathbandhan. Instead, it was a leading constituent of the Left front in Bihar, which fought independently.

Then existing as the Indian Peoples Front (IPF), the CPI-ML (L) won the Arrah Lok Sabha seat in 1989, creating a flutter at the national level. This was the first time in post-independence India when a candidate belonging to a far Left party had won a parliamentary seat.

CPI-ML (L) has won assembly seats consistently in Bhojpur. This district was a hotbed of far-Left militancy in the 1970s.

‘Battle of Bahuara’, a prolonged, more than 72 hours, legendary battle between 6 armed guerrilla squad members (all Dalits and OBCs) of the then banned CPI-ML (L) and more than 1,000 police personnel, paramilitary and army forces was fought in the Bahuara village of Bhojpur. The date was 2 July 1975. Emergency had just been clamped. There was a total news blackout. Only BBC reported this unsung tale of unparalleled heroism.

Through a deft use of military and political tactics, the six CPI-ML (L) armed men were able to break the encirclement of security forces. A fight between upper and lower castes broke out between the security forces, leading to the death of hundreds in intra-unit fighting.

During the heydays of the Ram Mandir movement, it was in the Bhojpur-Rohtas belt that armed CPI-ML (L) squads fought off several BJP-RSS-VHP attempts to attack Muslim houses. Unlike UP, because of CPI-ML (L), BSP could never gain a foothold in Bihar. Dalits of Bihar chose class over caste identity.

On 3 August, CPI-ML (L) organised a militant march against ‘Gau Rakshaks’ in Arrah town of Bhojpur. A fact-finding team of the party was also scheduled to visit Ranisagar village. It remains to be seen whether Bhojpur blocks the entry of BJP’s mass, fascist communalism in Bihar, where it has now become the part of the government with one-time enemy, Nitish Kumar.

Jantakareporter.com is an independent news website covering the latest trends from India and around the world. Our team of hard-working and dedicated journalists gather news, verify their authenticity before showcasing them on our website for your consumption. The purpose of launching Jantakareporter.com, a 24×7 multimedia website is to revolutionize the way we gather news.